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myriadreads's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this one, and zipped right through it. It's 2065, and Kansas is the home of the space program. Adri has been chosen as a colonist to Mars, a high honor, but connecting with her family history raises questions that she's never considered. The story flashes from a grim future to the gritty past of the dust bowl, slowly unfolding a mystery that kept me turning pages past my bedtime to the conclusion. Strongest features: relationships between women, a multi-generational family story, grounded in history, and beautifully written.
Adri is a difficult character to connect to, both in the story and for me as a reader, so the book was a slow starter. Stick with it until you get to the first letters and journal entries. If you're drawn to the sci-fi element, just know that there isn't much on the actual space travel or colonization of Mars. It's a book that feels very close to home.
Adri is a difficult character to connect to, both in the story and for me as a reader, so the book was a slow starter. Stick with it until you get to the first letters and journal entries. If you're drawn to the sci-fi element, just know that there isn't much on the actual space travel or colonization of Mars. It's a book that feels very close to home.
stephaniealysse's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kbsharpe21's review against another edition
4.0
For such a short read, the stories within this book moved me in such a gentle and quiet way. I’m normally not a fan of epistolaries, but all three of these women were so interesting to me. Each woman had something that I personally resonated with, and it was the first book that has made me cry in a long time.
I cried twice. The first time on page 131 from Lenore’s perspective about grief because I felt so understood in my own grief.
“Beth, I’ve made a discovery, and it’s that grief isn’t like sadness at all. Sadness is only something that is a part of you. Grief becomes you; it wraps you up and changes you and makes everything— every little thing—different than it was before............
And it makes me think about you and me. And how I’ve wanted so badly to be the person you remember. And how I’ve hated everyone for their sadness because mine is so big and ugly and hungry inside me that I can’t let it catch me.
I’ve been up all night. I’m lost, but I also want to tell you, that I’m not hopeless. I can hear birds waking up, and a line of pretty yellow light is falling into the room, and I feel alive like I haven’t in a long time. It feels like waking up from a fever. Like I’ve been asleep for months, or a year.
***But I can’t promise you that I’m unaltered. And I’m not sure anymore that I want to be.”***
And the second time I cried was for that damned TORTOISE.
I’m just so glad I read this.
I cried twice. The first time on page 131 from Lenore’s perspective about grief because I felt so understood in my own grief.
“Beth, I’ve made a discovery, and it’s that grief isn’t like sadness at all. Sadness is only something that is a part of you. Grief becomes you; it wraps you up and changes you and makes everything— every little thing—different than it was before............
And it makes me think about you and me. And how I’ve wanted so badly to be the person you remember. And how I’ve hated everyone for their sadness because mine is so big and ugly and hungry inside me that I can’t let it catch me.
I’ve been up all night. I’m lost, but I also want to tell you, that I’m not hopeless. I can hear birds waking up, and a line of pretty yellow light is falling into the room, and I feel alive like I haven’t in a long time. It feels like waking up from a fever. Like I’ve been asleep for months, or a year.
***But I can’t promise you that I’m unaltered. And I’m not sure anymore that I want to be.”***
And the second time I cried was for that damned TORTOISE.
I’m just so glad I read this.
vandemon's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
steph01924's review against another edition
5.0
Whew, I could not put that down. Check out my full review at Forever Young Adult.
Reread for the second time in 2022 (funnily enough almost exactly to the day) and loved it just as much as the first time. Some parts hit even deeper after five more years around the sun. Just a beautiful story of hope and loss and friendship.
Reread for the second time in 2022 (funnily enough almost exactly to the day) and loved it just as much as the first time. Some parts hit even deeper after five more years around the sun. Just a beautiful story of hope and loss and friendship.
perditism's review against another edition
3.0
i adore books that is centralled around female friendships and platonic soulmates
rakoerose's review against another edition
4.0
This is a short and stellar read with the amazing ability of creating such investment in that short amount of time.
Aren’t we a little like tiny gods? To reach up from the ground for the sun, and then when we can’t reach it, to make it ourselves?
The three girls focused on in this story, Lenore, Cathy, and Adri are all beautifully flawed. Hot-tempered, rash when making decisions, they all follow such an interesting route in their lives that makes them feel unique. I ended up liking them all immensely in the end, worrying for their futures even if they’d long since past in the time-scape of the novel.
The epistolary format is one I’m quite partial to - I grew up absolutely devouring those types of novels. This one includes diary entries and letters. There’s just something intimate about the medium when it’s done right, fulfilling that urge to dive deep into one person’s thoughts and feelings. I do attribute it a lot to how quickly I got invested. This is definitely a more character driven story, which I adore. This format won’t be for everyone but I think it’s clear how much I like it! Anderson’s style is also, in my opinion, compulsively readable. I didn’t want to put this book down.
The ending, for all three of them (four including Lily), made me breathless with the dawning of new lives and experiences. This is one of those novels that hammers home just how long a life is, and how you can do so much with it in the end.
I’m very glad I picked this up, based mostly on my childhood fascination with Anderson’s May Bird series. She definitely didn’t disappoint. ⚡️
Aren’t we a little like tiny gods? To reach up from the ground for the sun, and then when we can’t reach it, to make it ourselves?
The three girls focused on in this story, Lenore, Cathy, and Adri are all beautifully flawed. Hot-tempered, rash when making decisions, they all follow such an interesting route in their lives that makes them feel unique. I ended up liking them all immensely in the end, worrying for their futures even if they’d long since past in the time-scape of the novel.
The epistolary format is one I’m quite partial to - I grew up absolutely devouring those types of novels. This one includes diary entries and letters. There’s just something intimate about the medium when it’s done right, fulfilling that urge to dive deep into one person’s thoughts and feelings. I do attribute it a lot to how quickly I got invested. This is definitely a more character driven story, which I adore. This format won’t be for everyone but I think it’s clear how much I like it! Anderson’s style is also, in my opinion, compulsively readable. I didn’t want to put this book down.
The ending, for all three of them (four including Lily), made me breathless with the dawning of new lives and experiences. This is one of those novels that hammers home just how long a life is, and how you can do so much with it in the end.
I’m very glad I picked this up, based mostly on my childhood fascination with Anderson’s May Bird series. She definitely didn’t disappoint. ⚡️
hayleybeale's review against another edition
3.0
Odd mix of sci fi and historical fiction, linked by the idea of friendship and the bonds between women.
bookish_manda's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
I enjoyed this book, but I wish it dug deeper into each story line. My favorite storyline was probably Lenore’s in 1919, but I also really intrigued by Adri’s storyline (set in 2065). I liked the idea of traveling to Mars and wish Anderson would’ve given more details regarding that. I loved Lily! She was so funny and realistic.